The Cubs arrival in Miami this week was seemingly a case of bad timing.

They apparently missed the glory days of the new Marlins Park, which managed to draw only 24,544 fans in the fourth game in the ballpark's history.

Cheerleaders, an excessively loud p.a. system, a fish tank and a pale imitation of the Brewers' sausage race — using sea creatures instead of sausage products — weren't enough to get the locals excited about going out to watch a baseball game.

But the Marlins have spent a lot of money to put a competitive team on the field, as they showed Tuesday night in a 5-2 victory over the Cubs.